TEMPE, Ariz. — The Milwaukee Brewers have had their first weird injury of spring training.

Reliever Francisco Rodriguez might have his scheduled spring debut delayed Thursday after he stepped bare-footed on a cactus Tuesday on the team’s day off.

“They took out a lot of the thorns but there’s still some in there,” said manager Ron Roenicke. “I don’t think it’s that big of a setback but I imagine he’s pretty sore today. You know how little some of the thorns are and they break off in there.”

Because Rodriguez was delayed in arriving to camp after waiting for a work visa in Venezuela, he already was a couple of weeks behind the other pitchers. But veteran late relievers don’t need a lot of innings in exhibition play and Roenicke said he thinks there’s still time for K-Rod to get ready.

On Wednesday afternoon, Roenicke said Rodriguez indicated he wanted to pitch Thursday.

Last spring, general manager Doug Melvin was the one who suffered an unexpected injury when he was stung by a scorpion.

Garza struggles again: The early struggles continue for Matt Garza.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander was rocked for nine hits, 10 runs (six earned) and a walk to go along with one strikeout in just 1 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

The Brewers trailed, 10-0, when Garza was lifted from the game in the second for Rob Wooten.

Not all of the blame could be laid at Garza’s feet, considering the defense behind him. Rickie Weeks and Jean Segura committed errors in an eight-run second. Several of the Angels’ hits were also softly hit or perfectly placed.

Still, considering starting pitchers are now beginning to ramp up their preparation and pitching longer into games in order to stretch out for the regular season, Garza’s numbers stick out.

Through those three starts (5 2/3 innings), Garza has allowed 19 hits, 17 runs (12 earned) and three walks to go along with a 19.06 ERA. Garza also has four strikeouts.

Asked if his stats to this point concerned him, Garza was blunt.

“No,” he said. “You get new ones when the bell rings so I’m not too worried about these.”

The Angels scored twice in the first off Garza and eight times in the second as Garza unleashed his full arsenal of pitches for the first time.

“This was the first day I busted out my breaking balls,” he said. “I fell behind and I used them early — that’s usually an early indicator that I’m not ready to just start flipping them. It’s good work. My changeup, I threw really well. Missed some fastballs then I spotted my fastball really good.

“All in all, it was a decent day. I’d rather it went longer but that’s the way it breaks down. You just deal with it.”

Hellweg made three appearances in Cactus League play and was 0-1 with an 18.00 ERA. He pitched three innings, allowed six hits (two home runs) and walked one while striking out two.

“I was actually happy with the way he threw the ball,” Roenicke said. “The last two outings he really got after it, and that’s what we’re really been trying to get him to do.

“Instead of kind of the pacing and your stuff doesn’t show up until the third, fourth, fifth inning, try to get him to come out and get after it, and he did.”

Hellweg’s spring got off to a rough start when he failed to record an out in the ninth inning of a loss to the Oakland A’s, eventually giving up a walk-off homer. In his last outing on Monday, he allowed four hits (including a homer) and three earned runs while striking out one in a loss to the Chicago White Sox.

De La Torre posted a 6.00 ERA after pitching a total of three innings in four appearances.

Weeks fine: Weeks left Wednesday’s game after scoring from first base on a double by Jonathan Lucroy in the third inning but said afterward he was fine.

Weeks was laboring around third base and crossed home plate with a head-first dive. What looked like a potential injury to his surgically repaired left hamstring actually turned out to be a good thing, he said.

“I had some scar tissue release,” he said. “I was waiting on that. It just popped on me. I’m free now, basically. There was kind of a little knot back there, basically.

“I’m running, feel good, but still feel a little knot back there. Now, when I had to bust it, I stretched out and it released. It kind of scared me a little bit and then the last three steps I was like, ‘Oh, I feel good.’

“It’s a great thing. it’s gone now, so I’m good.”

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